Hi all,

I am trying to develop a simple motor controller system using the Tinyduino. To date I have had 2 USB boards fail on me (in 2 weeks). Is there an inherent weakness in these boards?

I get a "problem uploading to board" message (didn't get this initially as it was working so they arrived in working order), and a PC warning about "Power Surge on Hub Port". I am getting close to giving Tinyduino up as a bad show and going back to Arduino, but wanted to see if there is something I can do to continue with the Tinyduino as its size suits my project.

thanks,

Phil

Hi Phil,

That is very strange. I have been using Tiny Duino for around a year now and have used multiple USB boards. I have never had a problem with them. I have had a few issues with uploading sketches. However after a short debug, I found it was a faulty USB cable. What is your stack and set-up?

Hi Phil, if you're using the motor controller board, let us know how it's wired up, along with what revision USB and main processor board you have. A picture of the setup can help a lot.

I haven't heard about any recent USB TinyShield failures, so I would definitely like to figure this one out.

Here is the wiring setup I am using and the error I get when trying to upload a simple sketch to just the uP/USB (in case it was the motor board causing an issue). I have tried 4 different cables to check if it is a cable problem and 2 different uP boards. The USB boards are Rev 4 (ASC2101) and processor Rev 6 (ASM2001).

Phil

That setup certainly should not be causing problems. Unfortunately the error message doesn't help figure out what's going on either. First step, we'll definitely get you replacement boards- please send us an email at info@tiny-circuits.com with your address.

Thanks,
Ben

Thanks Ben,

I am in the UK and bought the boards through ICSAT (who have been super helpful by the way). Should I send the 2 nonworking USB boards back for investigation?

Thanks,

Phil

Hi Phil, we'd definitely like that, please mention it to Ken when you email us- I'm not sure how that's normally handled.

Thanks,
Ben

Hi all,

I just want to update you with the status of this. It seems like the problem was not with the circuits, but with the usage of the IDE. The issue is that when you use one set and then swap another one it connects with a new port, the IDE still has the 'old' port set, therefore any download will fail since it is sending to the wrong port. The rule is when swapping a board check your assigned port it will have changed, and select the newly added one.

Apologies to Tinycircuits and ICSAT UK for giving them extra work!